diff --git a/pkg/cmd/codespace/ports.go b/pkg/cmd/codespace/ports.go
index 094833e30..cc4365742 100644
--- a/pkg/cmd/codespace/ports.go
+++ b/pkg/cmd/codespace/ports.go
@@ -46,13 +46,9 @@ func newPortsCmd(app *App) *cobra.Command {
 
 // ListPorts lists known ports in a codespace.
 func (a *App) ListPorts(ctx context.Context, codespaceName string, exporter cmdutil.Exporter) (err error) {
-	codespace, err := getOrChooseCodespace(ctx, a.apiClient, codespaceName)
+	codespace, err := getCodespaceForPorts(ctx, a.apiClient, codespaceName)
 	if err != nil {
-		// TODO(josebalius): remove special handling of this error here and it other places
-		if err == errNoCodespaces {
-			return err
-		}
-		return fmt.Errorf("error choosing codespace: %w", err)
+		return err
 	}
 
 	devContainerCh := getDevContainer(ctx, a.apiClient, codespace)
@@ -235,12 +231,9 @@ func (a *App) UpdatePortVisibility(ctx context.Context, codespaceName string, ar
 		return fmt.Errorf("error parsing port arguments: %w", err)
 	}
 
-	codespace, err := getOrChooseCodespace(ctx, a.apiClient, codespaceName)
+	codespace, err := getCodespaceForPorts(ctx, a.apiClient, codespaceName)
 	if err != nil {
-		if err == errNoCodespaces {
-			return err
-		}
-		return fmt.Errorf("error getting codespace: %w", err)
+		return err
 	}
 
 	session, err := codespaces.ConnectToLiveshare(ctx, a, noopLogger(), a.apiClient, codespace)
@@ -311,12 +304,9 @@ func (a *App) ForwardPorts(ctx context.Context, codespaceName string, ports []st
 		return fmt.Errorf("get port pairs: %w", err)
 	}
 
-	codespace, err := getOrChooseCodespace(ctx, a.apiClient, codespaceName)
+	codespace, err := getCodespaceForPorts(ctx, a.apiClient, codespaceName)
 	if err != nil {
-		if err == errNoCodespaces {
-			return err
-		}
-		return fmt.Errorf("error getting codespace: %w", err)
+		return err
 	}
 
 	session, err := codespaces.ConnectToLiveshare(ctx, a, noopLogger(), a.apiClient, codespace)
@@ -380,3 +370,23 @@ func normalizeJSON(j []byte) []byte {
 	// remove trailing commas
 	return bytes.ReplaceAll(j, []byte("},}"), []byte("}}"))
 }
+
+func getCodespaceForPorts(ctx context.Context, apiClient apiClient, codespaceName string) (*api.Codespace, error) {
+	codespace, err := getOrChooseCodespace(ctx, apiClient, codespaceName)
+	if err != nil {
+		// TODO(josebalius): remove special handling of this error here and it other places
+		if err == errNoCodespaces {
+			return nil, err
+		}
+		return nil, fmt.Errorf("error choosing codespace: %w", err)
+	}
+
+	if codespace.PendingOperation {
+		return nil, fmt.Errorf(
+			"codespace is disabled while it has a pending operation: %s",
+			codespace.PendingOperationDisabledReason,
+		)
+	}
+
+	return codespace, nil
+}